


A Coming Storm

by itismagical



Category: Campaign (Podcast): Skyjacks, Campaign Podcast Skyjacks, Campaign: Skyjacks (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 10:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itismagical/pseuds/itismagical
Summary: They had done this so many times, and they will continue to do it until every Red Feather ship has been picked out of the sky. Whatever setback they had, they would still come back to this. The two of them would always have each other.--Some fun head canons about The Tempest, the first ship to be named a crew of corsairs, mentioned in one of the Tales from Spéir.





	A Coming Storm

Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could still see it. 

A cloudless night lit only by the light of a partial moon. A girl bundled up in a cloak too big for her being hurried along by a couple servants talking to each other in sharp whispers. A ship sitting silent and alone at the end of a worn-out dock. 

A scream.

She tried to turn her head to get another look at the home she was being forced away from. _Whose scream was that?_ But they told her to keep moving, quickly, everything would be okay but they had to go now. _Whose scream was that?_ It didn’t feel like everything would be okay. It felt like something critical, something fundamental had gone very wrong. _Whose scream was that?_

And then her brother was there, taking her by the hand and pulling her towards the ship. His hand gripped around hers felt solid, like a rope tethering her to the ground. Like it was the first real thing to happen all night. It was the only part of the memory that still felt real. 

“We have to leave.” Her reminiscing was interrupted by a voice above her. Opening her eyes, she was quickly brought back to the present day by a burst of sunlight. Cal stood by her head, talking to her but not looking at her. His gaze was turned to the sky. Two birds were swirling around each other, disappearing into clouds and popping back out on their way towards the horizon. No doubt he was watching them and wondering where they were headed. “We’ve been here too long.” 

“I know,” Ada said, not sounding very excited about the prospect. She pushed herself up into a seated position, also looking out, but not to the sky. Her attention was caught instead by the ocean. The waves rolled over each other and lapped at the ground in a haphazard rhythm that comforted her. It was amazing people could be afraid of something so gentle. Or maybe it was amazing something that seemed so gentle could be so deadly. 

“It’s hard to think about doing it without them,” she spoke up again. “I miss them.” She didn’t have to specify who. He would know who she was referring to.

It wasn’t their first loss. That happened long ago, so long it felt like it was someone else’s story and she was just borrowing it. That night, two siblings escaped an assassination attempt, but their parents did not. A fatherless son and a motherless daughter were forced to wander, uncertain if any shore they touched down on would be safe for them. They had lost everything, but all they wished for was a home. 

That’s when the Island appeared. It promised them more than they could have hoped. It promised them refuge from the dangers of the world, a place no one could get to them. It promised them its magic, a force strong enough to exact revenge on the people that killed their family. But Ada had now lived long enough to know that everything came with a price, and every debt had to be paid. 

The Island needed to feed. With more and more people taking to the skies, that became difficult. It needed their help. 

There had been many crews along the way. They had been doing this for so long, Ada lost count of just how many people had cycled on and off their ship. Their most recent one had been ambushed in their sleep. It had been a careless mistake that let it happen, and they weren’t in a position where they could be careless. 

“I miss them too.” Cal knelt down beside her, finally focusing his full attention on his sister. “But we’re going to do right by them. We’ll get the Red Feather back for hurting us.” 

Ada turned her head to him and saw the familiar fire behind his eyes. It was the excitement of the next quest, the eagerness to take the next step in this never-ending journey. The one thing that made him look malicious even when the rest of his expression, from the crinkled eyebrows to the soft smile, looked so warm. It always made her wonder what he saw when he looked into her eyes. 

“Is this what the Island wants us to do?” she asked. Cal was always more in touch with what the Island was asking. Ada had all the access to its magic that she wanted, but any time she tried to understand it, she failed. It was like reading a book in a language she once knew but had since forgotten. Familiar, but ultimately indecipherable. 

“It just wants to help us.” That’s what he’d been saying for decades now. “We’ll start with the ship that attacked us. We’ll show them we’re not so easily knocked down. We’ll get revenge for them all.”

His words brought her back to the night of the attack, the most recent in their list of losses. By the time she woke up, half of the crew was dead. The last half she had to watch be killed off one by one. The sadness in her started to morph into anger as she remembered the looks on the enemies’ faces. So proud of themselves as they sliced open another throat. So sure they would rid the world of this problem once and for all. But Cal was right. They couldn’t be taken down that easily. And the Red Feather had to learn that.

“I want to deal with the captain,” she said, her voice now taking on a sharper tone. “The one who killed Raen. I want to return the favor.” There was always a price to be paid. 

“Whoever you want,” Cal answered. 

“We’ll need to get a new crew.”

“We always do.” He stood, brushing off his knees as he did. “Ready?” A hand was extended her way in a familiar gesture. They had done this so many times, and they will continue to do it until every Red Feather ship has been picked out of the sky. Whatever setback they had, they would still come back to this. The two of them would always have each other. She took his hand and let him help her up. 

As they boarded the ship and Ada busied herself with making sure they had all of their supplies, Cal’s attention was on the horizon, planning their next move. It wasn’t the easiest journey to make by themselves but they knew how. Over his shoulder he asked, “What’s the forecast?”

Ada looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “Cloudy,” she said. And as she said it, heavy clouds started to materialize in the nearly clear sky, encroaching on the space until it cast a gray tint on everything below. “Just cloudy enough that they won’t see us coming.”

Bright red fabric hung on the ship, ready to take them into the sky at a moment’s notice, but they ignored them for now. Instead, they unfurled the white sails that hung from the mast, the kind that didn’t get made anymore. They caught the wind and with that, The Tempest set off on the water.


End file.
